Sunday, December 5, 2010

Today’s flowers: couroupita guianensis tree

Couroupita guianensis (common name is Cannonball Tree), belongs to the family Lecythiaceae.

Have you ever walked around Singapore and observe the many unusual growths on those large trees? Couroupita guianensis are one of them, something special…
There are quite a number of these trees in Singapore, one is at Ang Mo Kio gardeb west, one at botanic garden, one at Sembawang Park, one at east coast park…many more other places.
I found this old Couroupita guianensis tree at Seletar west fram Click to enlarge.
The flowers are large, beautiful, pleasantly aromatic. Grow on stems that sprout out of the trunk of a HUGE tree. The fruit is are in the shape and size of cannon balls, that is why the name “Cannonball Tree” called. Both the flowers and fruits grow on stems that sprout out of the trunk of a HUGE tree. I have seen flowering and fruiting on the lower part of the trunk…But this tree is really huge, I need to look up to admire those beautiful flowers,
Cannonball Tree flower and buds
…Other two old pictures below taken in Singapore zoo last year, more fruits growing on the tree trunk.
…Other beautiful flowers here: Todays Flowers.

These are very commonly found here in Singapore but I must admit there's a kind of odour to these flowers which turn me off! did you notice it?The yellow flower you see in my blog was taken just outside Ang Mo Kio hub, just opposite the MRT station. They are commonly grown here in parks and along the roads, but maybe because it's short blooming period, not many people recognize it.